Pretoria - The N3 Toll Concession on Friday announced that all north and southbound lanes on the N3 toll route remain closed to all traffic in the vicinity of Montrose, in the Free State, due to an oil spill.
“This follows an earlier single vehicle crash of a truck transporting cooking oil which hit a road barrier and overturned, causing a tear in the oil carrying container [called a bladder]. The leaked cooking oil quickly spread over an approximate five-kilometre distance in each direction,” the roads authority in KwaZulu-Natal, the N3 Toll Concession said.
Road incident management services, including clean-up and recovery crews, were on the scene on Friday afternoon, decanting the remaining cooking oil from the carrier for cleaning of the road surface to continue.
“Extensive delays are expected throughout the day until the clean-up and recovery process is complete and it is safe to re-open the road to traffic,” the roads authority said.
Heavy motor vehicles remained stacked on the scene, whilst light motor vehicles were being diverted as follows:
- Southbound, towards KwaZulu-Natal at Harrismith [Exit 29]
- Northbound, towards Gauteng at Bergville interchange [Exit 230].
Road users have been advised to delay their trips if possible.
On Thursday, eleven people died in a tragic accident on the R612 between Ixopo and Highflats in the Harry Gwala District in the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
KZN Emergency Medical Services spokesperson Robert McKenzie said the crash involved at least three trucks, a minibus taxi and a bakkie.
“It has now been confirmed that 11 people have tragically lost their lives in this crash,” McKenzie said at the time.
African News Agency (ANA)